CLI & State Standards

School districts have been using state standards and curriculum maps for years. Some districts genuinely believe that standards or maps are their curriculum. In reality, they should never be used by themselves as curriculum in any subject area. Here’s why:

The verbs in state standards are often vague or not measurable, the content is in “clusters” of grade-level bands rather than separate grade levels, the content is organized into strands rather than related teaching targets, and/or the quantity is beyond what can realistically be accomplished in an academic year.

Curriculum maps are the individual teacher or department’s “how” and “when” for content, not the district-wide decisions of “what” and “why”.

States have the option of creating their own sets of content standards and several have adopted the Common Core State Standards for Math and English/Language Arts. Either way, these standards will not replace a solid local curriculum; however, they will unquestionably impact your curriculum.

A curriculum developed with the support of CLI allows flexibility to incorporate other content pieces or external measures that state standards may not include but are deemed important to the local community.

Examples may include the ACT or local policy, such as a district’s wellness program. The locally developed curriculum includes support references to those external measures, as well as, complete alignment to the adopted state standards. CLI has the expertise to help districts build a teachable curriculum, regardless of the external measures required. This curriculum will align with a set of standards, reference other measures of expectations, and have a local emphasis.

How We Do It

Remember, standards and maps are NOT curriculum! Using state math standards as an example, CLI consultants will meet with the math Subject Area Committee to analyze the standards and interpret their meanings. Next, the committee utilizes math standards, the district’s own curriculum document, and reported topics and skills to make comparisons. Through this process, the committee determines what is missing, how information needs to be differentiated at various grade levels, where more rigor is needed, and how emphasis can be added or reduced through pacing and/or clear expectations expressed through the use of a verb indicating the depth of knowledge expected of the student. The final product will be a math curriculum that meets the needs of the district’s own student populations, requires high levels of achievement on identified standards, delineates appropriate rigor for all students, and aligns with the standards.